The Swing Era came on the heels of an especially tumultuous time in American history. The 1920s saw a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan and with that a slew of violence aimed at African Americans. Most schools, even in the northern states, were segregated, and Jim Crow laws ruled in the South. It’s no stretch to say that, at that time, black people were considered less human than white people.
In the mid 1930s jazz music rose in popularity, as did the various styles of swing dancing. It was not uncommon to see white and African American musicians playing together on the bandstand or lindy-hopping in pairs on the dance floor. Folks who couldn’t attend church together due to racial differences could gather at the nightclubs or community dances.
It is tempting to see this history through idealistic lenses and assume that jazz healed the racial divide, that music had the power to end strife. If only that were so. While there were great moments of unity and equity, racism didn’t end. In fact, many black musicians were not fully recognized for their accomplishments.
Although the Swing Era did not prove to be an end to racism, it did provide moments of hope that people of all colors could one day live in peace, community, and equality. And that is still our hope today, even through our own struggles to live in unity.
To learn more about the Swing Era, watch the BBC’s documentary The Swing Thing on YouTube.